The Gift of a Residency

That’s what I did this weekend; I gave myself the gift of a residency.

Nope, I didn’t apply for anything, or get any funding.  I gave this time to myself.

I am fortunate enough to have carte blanche access to a condo in Daytona Beach, Florida that over looks the Intercoastal Waterway.  For a salt loving, ocean loving person this is pure heaven.

But I seldom go.

It’s too difficult most of the time to just go.  Life gets in the way.

But this past weekend I did it.  And, boy am I glad I did.

I wasn’t making work, rather working on the business of art.

Not as much fun as making art, but very enlightening and worth the effort.  We artists really need to know the why’s of doing this crazy thing called art.

I won’t be so bold as to say I did all that I set out to do, but I accomplished a lot and I hope to do it again in the future.  It is a necessary part of being an artist.

My only wish would be to have the opportunity to do it with like minded artists, too.  This past weekend was for solitude, but having a sisterhood from afar to share ideas with, well, that would be fantastic.  And I hope someday that wish comes true.

But now it is Monday.  I am refreshed and ready to face the world.

I hope you are too.

May you have a creative day!

Little White Lies

I took the Encaustic class at Penland School of Crafts that I mentioned in an earlier post a year ago knowing I wanted to work 3 dimensionally, but it took me this long to finally get a piece done.

Sometimes work just has to percolate for a while.

And the main piece that has been brewing and stewing all along is Little White Lies.  It took me that long to bring it fruition because I struggled with what I wanted.  I am a big proponent of working in tandem with each piece, but I need to have some aspects in mind before starting or I could flail around wasting time.

Some of the issues I struggled with were:

• Should I have a wheel or not?  At first I thought the piece should be that literal.  But as I struggled through one wheel after the next, each looking just like a wheel that Fred Flinstone might have on his car, I started to reconsider.  The wheel barrow was stopped in its tracks, after all, so why have a wheel.
• What should I fill it with, if anything?  One thing I wanted to use were the little fortune tellers from my childhood, and something I use repeatedly in my work.  At this point I had thought the entire piece should be a pale pink for a sense of innocence, but the little voice in my head kept telling me, "no" to both.
• I landed on just using text to fill the bucket part.  So, what should the text look like?  How much text should there be? And what should be made of?

I decided to keep it pale white with a gray wash to highlight parts of it, and to use large flat text that is attached to the bucket with just a little overflowing out of it.

Here is an image of it in progress:

Kim Radatz
Little White Lies, 2013

And a detail near the completion:

Kim Radatz
Little White Lies, detail, 2013

Better photos to follow, just a quick peek for now.

What do you think?  Any input would be greatly appreciated!

May your day be a creative one!

Kim

One Year, One Month, One Day

That is exactly the amount of time that has passed since I last blogged.

Mercy me.

It wasn’t an intentional choice to stop, it just happened.

First, I went to Penland School of Crafts for an encaustic class.  Which was FABULOUS, by the way.  I learned lots and met a wonderful group of artists.  Hands down one of the best experiences that I have had taking a workshop.  (Below are a few pieces I made during the workshop.)

And then one thing led to another, and then another, and I got out of the habit of blogging.

I toyed with different blog post ideas from time to time, but they never made it past the idea stage.

But, here I am back again.

I’d like to think I’ll make it a regular habit, but in the past year I have also tried to let go of the many “shoulds” in my life, so I’m not going to force myself into a “one size fits all model.”  Instead, I’ll shoot towards once a week and hope for the best.

I do have much to share and much to learn from you, so I look forward to reconnecting again.

Until the next time, may your days be filled with lots of creativity.

Artfully,

Kim

Encaustic work done at Penland 2012
Kim Radatz

Encaustic work done at Penland 2012
Kim Radatz

Letting Go, Orange
Kim Radatz

Letting Go, Green
Kim Radatz 

Polka Dot House
Kim Radatz

You Say
Kim Radatz

Seeking North
Kim Radatz